Jared Lee Loughner Expected to Change Plea to Guilty

August 7, 2012

(TUCSON, Ariz.) — The man accused of going on a shooting spree in Tucson, Ariz., last year is expected to change his plea to guilty in federal court Tuesday.

Jared Lee Loughner is charged with killing six people on Jan. 8, 2011, and wounding 13 others, including former Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In March 2011, he pleaded not guilty to 49 counts, including six first-degree murder charges, which carry a possible death sentence upon conviction.

A source familiar with the case told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that Loughner, who has been treated for a mental disorder while under arrest, will receive a term of life in prison in exchange for his new plea.